Jan 21, 2006
Hello from Texas.  Holy crap what a crazy place.  Turns out I've landed in the fastest growing county in the state and probably in the world.   I'm not used to so many people in one place.  I call it New York City South.   I could tell you lots of stories, but suffice it to say I am working on some plans for some concerts and upcoming shows.  All the songs from both albums will be free for download soon on the website.  
JohnnyO  
<BR>
<BR> 
June 20 2005 Hey, Texas here I come.  What am I doing?  Am I out of my mind?  That's what most of my friends say.  But I am so ready to head to Texas.  All of my heros and favorite musicians are either from Texas or have strong Texas links.   Stevie, Freddie,  Townes, Steven Stills, Lyle Lovett, Guy Clarke, Willie and the list could go on for days.  I may be a slightly late bloomer, but I believe in myself and my music and I'm ready to take it to a whole new level.  Rock on......  JohnnyO 



<BR><BR>

Hey all,<BR><BR>

Write to me!   Tell me you are out there.  Every single day I get an email from someone I haven't heard from in a long time or in some cases have never met.  I write back to everybody.  
<BR><BR>
Sometimes I get a little insecure about how my CD sounds.  What I mean is that it is a labor of love done on my personal recording studio in my basement.  (read Tom Scholtz and the band Boston).  However, I'm not an electrical engineer and I'm not rich, so I had to resign myself to be happy with a few background noises and not quite as slick a finished product.   Please, please, please write to me if you hear the dogs barking on "Slugging Fool".   However, I always remind myself that my goal was not to make the next Dark Side of the Moon.  I wanted to make a record where the songs stood out and it sounded "live".  I hope you enjoy the record.  I will be uploading a few more Mp3s soon, including a couple of live cuts recorded recently.  <BR>
As always.  Keep the faith.   JohnnyO
<BR>

<BR>
<BR>
June 25, 2004<BR>
Wow.  Where does the time go.  You'll note the site has a slightly different look to it.  I've decided to incorporate my Wedding DJ business into the site.  The music business is a pretty tough house to live in if you want to make a decent living, so I pay the bills by being a DJ for Weddings and Special Events.  I have to say that being a DJ for a wedding is one of my favorite things to do for work.  You are making people happy and driving the party.  Plus, if you can't be performing the music, the next best thing is to be in control of the music.   Call or write me if you have any need for a DJ.  <BR>
Seeya soon.  JohnnyO
    



<BR>
<BR>
June 7, 2004.
<BR>
<BR>

On June 6th,  I read a lot of D-day material.  I'll admit I have a fascination in the subject.  In February of 1995, I met a man who was hiking in Boynton Canyon, Sedona, Arizona.  We stopped and talked for a little bit.  He was wearing a hat that said Third Army.  (The Third Army was Patton's Army in France.)   I asked him if he was in the Third Army and he told me that he was.  After a few more moments he told me that he was in fact laying in a hospital bed in France 50 years earlier.  Then he showed me his prostetic leg and told me that he lost his leg in France and that it was the best thing that ever happened to him.  I must have given the standard look of surprise because he followed that up by saying, "Losing my leg meant I got to come home".  Other veterans have reminded me that a wound like that is also called the "Million Dollar Wound".  <BR>
<BR>

I wrote the song Omaha Beach in remembrance of that man whose name I have long since forgotton.   See my Website at www.johnnyomusic.com for lyrics to the song.
<BR>
<BR>
<BR>

 

 Wednesday, May 26, 2004
<BR>
<BR>

A friend asked me the other day how I write songs.  My first thought was that they just fall into my lap.   I told him where the song Slugging Fool on my cd came from. It is written for my son who is a Little League baseball nut.  I asked my boy a couple of years ago when he was 11,  if he had a goal in life.  He quickly answered "yes!".  I asked him what his goal in life is.  and He responded: "I want to lead the Red Sox to a World Championship."  I stared at him and said something like: "Good for you!  Don't bother starting at the bottom".  So when I was trying to write a song for him, baseball came to the fore right away.   
<BR>
<BR>

Some songs come right out quickly, and some take a long time.   Slugging Fool poured out of a creative thunderstorm and I just wrote it down as fast as I could.  Other songs arrive looking like jagged pieces of a broken mirror and I need to piece them together until it more or less reflects what I'm thinking.  Often, I get a new song out onto paper.  Then it might sit in the book for a few weeks while I go on about other things in life.  Suddenly, I will be driving around or at work, and an idea for a bridge or verse for that exact song will hit and I've got to get it down as quickly as possible.   I've had a number of interesting ideas and full songs as well hit me as I am driving down the highway.  I try to always keep my songwriting notebook with me.  At times I've also tried to keep a small dication recorder around.  However, it seems to be missing more often than it is available.
<BR>
<BR>

See you later.<BR>

JohnnyO  
<BR>
<BR>

 

Welcome to me Weblog.  Soon it will have all kinds of junk about me.  Finally a place to spew.  For now though.  Its just a blank slate.  A "blank table" .